A colleague mentioned few years ago during casual pet-lovers chit chat, she has a cat which she had rescued. I kept nodding until I realized what she meant by "rescue". During a visit to China, she went out for dinner and before the menu arrived, she saw a few weeks old kitten in a cage. When she inquired, the waiter was delighted to offer her different "feline" dishes. Appalled, she offered to buy the kitten "live" (which, by the way was a higher charge than the meal) and eventually took the kitten out of the country after the customary nuisance at the customs.
The irony is China is a country where for centuries where vegetarianism was (and still is) preached as a virtue but yet, this is the country where anything that moves are delightfully devoured or powdered for "placebo healing". It's hard to imagine what will happen when China starts emulating the American flesh industry (can IVF meat succeed where even Buddha failed?). Of-course they still eat dogs and now the nauseating cognitive dissonance is, with the exponential growth of their economy, they are paying $600,000 for pet dogs - just to show off their riches.
"Pet ownership is booming in a nation where dogs and cats are featured as part of meals and animal abuse remains widespread. But none carries the cachet of the Tibetan Mastiff, one of the largest dog breeds, which can weigh 180 pounds.
The irony is China is a country where for centuries where vegetarianism was (and still is) preached as a virtue but yet, this is the country where anything that moves are delightfully devoured or powdered for "placebo healing". It's hard to imagine what will happen when China starts emulating the American flesh industry (can IVF meat succeed where even Buddha failed?). Of-course they still eat dogs and now the nauseating cognitive dissonance is, with the exponential growth of their economy, they are paying $600,000 for pet dogs - just to show off their riches.
"Pet ownership is booming in a nation where dogs and cats are featured as part of meals and animal abuse remains widespread. But none carries the cachet of the Tibetan Mastiff, one of the largest dog breeds, which can weigh 180 pounds.
Last month, a Nanjing breeder paid $234,000 for his purebred pooch, reported the Yangtze Evening Times. In September, a young woman in Xian paid $600,000 for her pet, according to the Xian Evening News. Both led airport welcomes with long convoys of pricey automobiles.
"It's like gambling, as people think they can earn large sums from expensive dogs, but the reality is that it's very hard to breed a top quality purebred Tibetan Mastiff," Beijing breeder Zhao Yanjun says.
Others buy to show off their status. "Like men around the world, Chinese like to own big dogs as it shows 'I am successful, I want to dominate more women and big dogs,' " Zhao says.
In the USA, $5,000 is the upper limit for a show quality puppy, says Martha Feltenstein, president of the American Tibetan Mastiff Association. In China, prices have leapt this year amid a nationwide "Tibetan Mastiff fever" that shows little sign of cooling."
"Ma is still trying to represent his country by pushing for China's full membership in the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI), the World Canine Organization. It's a tough sell, Ma admits, as the FCI is concerned by China's low level of vaccinations, the culling of dogs to prevent rabies and the eating of dog meat.
"Ma is still trying to represent his country by pushing for China's full membership in the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI), the World Canine Organization. It's a tough sell, Ma admits, as the FCI is concerned by China's low level of vaccinations, the culling of dogs to prevent rabies and the eating of dog meat.
Those worries are well-justified, says Jeff He, China communication manager for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), an advocacy group. Culling continues in some areas, he says, even though vaccination and education are more effective. "The No. 1 threat to companion animals is the lack of animal welfare legislation in this country," he says.
Respect for animal rights is growing, says Qin Xiaona, chairwoman of Beijing's Capital Animal Welfare Association, but the absence of laws slows progress, she says. Last month, Qin rushed to nearby Tianjin to help rescue 800 mostly stolen cats that were locked in cages en route to diners in south China's Guangzhou."
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